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Thursday, January 09, 2014

Legal Issues Aside, Mayfield Still Faces Long Odds

Shana and Jeremy Mayfield

Jeremy Mayfield’s legal problems are now behind him. A return to
NASCAR, however, remains in serious doubt.

The former NASCAR Sprint Cup
Series driver pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor charges of possession
of stolen goods and possession of drug paraphernalia in North Carolina Superior
Court Monday, ending a two-year legal battle resulting from a Nov. 1, 2011
search of his home that prospectors say uncovered large amounts of illegal drugs
and property stolen from local businesses. He originally faced 21 felony counts
including possession of methamphetamine, possession of stolen goods and obtaining
property under false pretense; allegations that if proven, could have sent him
to jail for more than 20 years.

Mayfield received a 45-day suspended sentence
and 18 months of unsupervised probation, and was ordered to pay $88,124.41 in victims’
restitution, along with $1,100 in fines and court costs. In return for Mayfield’s guilty plea, prosecutors agreed to
drop all remaining charges.

Mayfield benefitted substantially from the death of alleged former
accomplice-turned state’s witness John Franklin, who died during a 120-mph
police chase in Granite Falls, NC in September of 2012. District Attorney Jay
Gaither said this week that Mayfield’s plea deal was a direct result of “…the
unavailability of the State’s key witness due to his death and the likely
result should these cases have been presented to a jury without this witness.”

With their star witness deceased, prosecutors had little choice
but to offer up a deal. With Monday’s Alford Plea, Mayfield
admitted that
the evidence against him – including shop equipment and electronics belonging
to the former Red Bull Racing team and plastic bags containing 1.3 grams of
methamphetamine – were real and likely to result in multiple felony convictions.
He
did not, however, admit to the crimes themselves.

He is now free and clear in the eyes of the law. In the NASCAR
garage, though, his conduct will not be easily explained.

Mayfield continues to insist that he was railroaded by NASCAR and
its substance abuse testing agent, AegisAnalyticalLaboratories. He
maintains thathis positive drug test
in May of 2009 resulted from a combination of Adderall taken to control Attention
Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and the over-the-counter allergy medication Claritin-D.

Those allegations have been denied by NASCAR and Aegis. Dr. David Black, who oversees the sport’s substance abuse
program, said at the time, “In my many years of experience, I have never seen a
violation like this due to the combination of over-the-counter or prescription
products."

NASCAR has repeatedly stated that the only way back for Mayfield is
to complete its substance abuse “Road To Recovery” program; a step the driver
has steadfastly refused to take. As recently as this week, Mayfield told
reporters that while he would agree to the random drug testing required of all
NASCAR drivers, he will refuse to take part in any NASCAR-mandated rehab.

Make no mistake about it, NASCAR will not allow Mayfield to
dictate the conditions of his own return. He will either do things the
sanctioning body’s way, or remain banished from the sport forever. Even if he agrees
to undergo NASCAR’s Road To Recovery protocol, however, there are significant road
blocks barring his way

Prior to his suspension, Mayfield endured messy splits with both
Penske Racing and Evernham Motorsports; splits that included allegations of
preferential treatment by team management and the intentional crashing of at
least one race car by Mayfield. Many observers believe those disputes – and Mayfield’s
handling of them – negatively impacted his ability to secure rides with other teams.
At the time of his 2009 suspension, the Kentucky native was reduced to fielding
his own Sprint Cup Series entry, failing to qualify for five of the first 10
races of the season.

Mayfield was arguably nearing the end of his competitive NASCAR
career at the time of his substance abuse suspension. Now, at age 44 and without
a competitive lap since May of 2009, it is difficult to imagine him appearing
on anyone’s competitive Wish List. There are simply too many question marks,
too many black marks and too many glaring discrepancies between statement and
fact.

Mayfield remains defiant, insisting that he is not now (and never
has been) a methamphetamine user. This week’s admission that a substantial
amount of the drug was found in his home, however, will be difficult for even
is supporters to ignore.

In a sport wholly dependent on corporate sponsorship, it is unlikely
that any NASCAR team owner or sponsor will be willing to put Jeremy Mayfield back
behind the wheel, ever again.